Braised Duck with Cherries Canard Montmorency Serves 4 to 6 also: Salad of Fresh Foie Gras Nicole | Yule Log

1 4- to 5-pound duck, oven-ready
1 pound Bing cherries, pitted (about 50 to 60)
1/2 cup Madeira or sherry wine
1/2 cup cherry brandy

Macerate the cherries with the Madeira and the cherry brandy at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours.

Sauce

neck, giblet, heart, and wing tips of the duck, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1/2 carrot, washed, unpeeled, and coarsely sliced (1/2 cup loose)
1 medium-sized onion, unpeeled and coarsely sliced (3/4 cup loose)
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
1 clove garlic, unpeeled and crushed
4 sprigs parsley, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
3 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the neck, giblet heart and wings. Saut6 for 2 to 3 minutes and add the vegetables and seasonings. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour. You should have 2 cups of liquid left. If not, adjust with some water. Put the strained liquid into a clean saucepan and add the cornstarch diluted with 1/2 cup of water, stirring with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil and set aside.

Duck

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 carrot, coarsely sliced (1/2 cup)
1 onion, coarsely sliced (3/4 cup)
3 sprigs parsley, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper the duck inside and out. Place in an oven dish and cook in a preheated 400-degree oven, breast side up, for I hour. Pour off the fat which has accumulated in the dish and add the carrot, onion, and parsley. Cook again for 30 minutes. Remove the duck to a warm platter, take the trussing string out, and keep warm. Pour the fat from the oven dish and put the duck back into it, breast side down, and cook on top of the stove for a few minutes so that any excess fat left on the breast will melt. Remove the duck and set aside. Pour the fat out of the dish and add the sauce. Cook, stirring for a few minutes, making sure that you melt all the solidified juices sticking in the bottom of the oven dish. Strain the sauce and add the cherries and wine mixture. Cook slowly for approximately 20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper if needed, and pour over the duck. Serve immediately.

Note: The duck can be cut in the kitchen and the sauce poured around, but it is not as dramatic as serving it whole and carving it in the dining room.